Christ as King

In ancient times, kings, priests, and prophets were often anointed with oil to signify God’s choice for a special role. The word Christ means ‘the anointed one’ and for Jesus it is a title signifying his divine anointing to redeem humanity, fulfill prophecy, and establish God’s kingdom.* During Jesus’ time you can understand why the King of Rome and Herod, the Roman Jewish king of Judea, were concerned about being overthrown. But God had other plans.

Power over people seems to be infusing our world today with horrific displays of violence spurred on by unrelenting activism. This power grab is intentionally driven by terrorists. And, too often it is the leadership of Western governments who don’t understand the folly of their policies which select winners and losers for their social experiments thereby inflicting pain in other ways.

I’m done with the violence and these experiments! When Jesus was preaching the gospel to his apostles and disciples he was saying this, that God is done with the powerful who actively work to make you surrender your soul to their will. It’s God’s will be done, not an emperor’s will and not a terrorist’s will. Jesus Christ was born to affirm God’s love for all people. The power hungry always ignore this message because it undermines their control.

There is hard terrorism that uses guns and other weapons of violence against unsuspecting people. But there is also a soft terrorism that uses government policies and court systems to unleash inconsistencies that destabilize peaceful environments. Both are used to adopt a message of fear. God would never envision this for his creation. Jesus knew this.

Consider the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples:

The Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13 / Luke 11:2-4)

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”: (Praise & God’s Sovereignty)
“Give us today our daily bread.”: (Provision & Daily Dependence)
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”: (Forgiveness & Mercy)
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”: (Guidance & Protection)

Key Themes for Disciples

God-Centered Focus: Start with God’s glory, not just your own needs.
Trust & Dependence: Rely on God daily for everything, like needing “daily bread”.
Forgiveness: Acknowledge your need for forgiveness and extend it to others.
Surrender: Pray for God’s will to be done, showing surrender to His plan.
Spiritual Warfare: Ask for strength to overcome temptation and evil.*

No king of Rome or of the Jewish state needed to be concerned about Jesus assuming their power. Jesus understood that his power was the Word. The only control Jesus had was the ability to ease mankind’s souls. His teachings did this. God anointed him as Jesus Christ. We bow only to God. Is Jesus a king? Perhaps. I would much rather consider him as God’s disciple. This means that each of us can be God’s disciple too.

Happy birthday Jesus. May we understand your love for us all.

*found with the help of Google 🙂

Sadly, We Forgot

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and consolidated several agencies, including the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, into the newly formed ICE. This is Federal law. Can Congress change this law? Of course it can…but it won’t. Just like it won’t change immigration laws. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and our current immigration laws go hand in hand. The Act tightened immigration policies in order to never repeat what happened on 9/11.

We forgot that the people who overstayed their visa twenty-four years ago were able to manipulate our systems in order to carry out the worst terror attack ever on our own soil. Twenty-four years is enough time for a whole generation of Americans to not understand the horror of that day.

Our federal government is responsible for our homeland security. It had egg on its face when security systems before 9/11 were so lax that the communication between the agencies failed to identify abuse by a terrorist threat. Foreign individuals conspired and organized the attack on 9/11 by accessing the means necessary to infiltrate airport security, flight training, and flight crew access…The tight measures we now experience to travel by plane continue to this day because of it. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, passed by the 107th Congress and signed on November 19, 2001, established the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

In 2021 the new Administration under President Biden redirected Border Patrol duties to handle the influx of immigrants that were crossing the border into the United States from every possible unsecured access point. It doesn’t matter how the news media spins the narrative…The border was porous and the number of crossers were extremely high to the point where Border Patrol were acting as processors and not enforcers. Catch and release had to be used because there was no way to build enough containment facilities for the large numbers crossing each day. And while Border Patrol was acting as an intake agent it is certainly clear that they were not acting to find those illegal migrants who were crossing undetected.

The undetected illegal immigrants who crossed our border are the problem and there are many!! They could be the worst of the worst and DHS would not even know that they are in our country. These worst of the worst can conspire to commit another terrorist attack. Thankfully the current Administration has not forgotten what took place on 9/11. Our State Department will use every lever within their authority to find and control any threat to the American people.

Yet many in the Democratic leadership announce wholeheartedly that our ICE agents are out of control and must be stopped. Stopped by whom? Ideological radicals and anarchists roaming wildly wherever federal agents are doing their work? We have already seen guns being used against our ICE agents. This behavior is what is out of control, and it could get worse. We must not forget how radical ideologies beget terror. Never again is now!

Damn Lies

When will they stop? Probably never. And they know it too.

Main stream corporate news media believe that as long as they tell a story then they will be judged by consumers as credible. The Shrew is crying “BULL$HIT”! Notice I said that they tell a story instead of report a story. They gave up on reporting the facts years ago. Today it’s about narratives not facts, appealing to emotions not minds, coddling the vulnerable and not ensuring the trust of each individual.

But the narratives don’t compute to those who critically think about a reported story. Information is glossed over or not enough. And what about the sources? Who are they and what makes them reliable? And what ever happened to world news reported by American media? It seems to the Shrew that their only focus is on current disasters…I’d like to know more about world governments and current affairs. Record numbers of migration are happening all over Europe…How are those countries coping? I suppose that if these stories aren’t reported by American mainstream media then it doesn’t really matter. Excuse me, but no information IS a form of lying. Trust not the lier.

Telling the truth after the fact is no better, it just means more spinning of yet another narrative. How infantile! We all did this as children at one point and it makes one look and feel foolish. This is what is happening in our corporate news media today. It doesn’t matter if it’s CNN, MSNBC or FOX. When the goal is to simply entertain the masses, then they lose to the critical thinkers. Their own politics stink.

We are at the point where the average American must let go and let God. The rioters in the streets might have the headlines, but God is judging them. He knows subversion when it is happening and He will help to guide the rest of us to sanity. It’s the only way at this point in time. Amen

The Cloak of Love and Joy

Imagine, if you will, that you live in a city or town with individuals of diverse family situations, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and religious philosophies. Trying to imagine this in the United States of America isn’t very hard to do, especially if you live in an urban setting. The hustle and bustle of public transportation among densely populated neighborhoods and a variety of commercial buildings is second nature to those who live in these environments. Many times even the suburbs located not too far from these urban areas are bustling just as much. However, there is a great deal of difference when towns are located far from this hustle and bustle.

Small rural towns are more homogeneous, that is, the people in them share a sameness of culture born around a common industry such as agriculture, mining or manufacturing. There is still a diversity of incomes and thought, but race, ethnicity and religious beliefs are typically less different. Our rural identity is just as important to the fabric of our country as our urban identity. Both knit together a unique sense of pride which we call patriotism.

What we build together as communities of hardworking and intelligent citizens is more important than what we take individually. We cannot have one without the other however…My commitment to myself as an asset to my community ensures a lasting civilization. Self awareness is key to prosperity no matter who you are on the spectrum of cultural diversity because it can help you make better decisions, build healthier relationships, lead with authenticity, take better care of yourself, and live a more fulfilling life. Self awareness is your personal cloak of love and joy.

Think of this cloak as your own hero cape! You are a Superhero to all those around you when this cloak has been fully formed by other self aware people in your life. It is like the Biblical narrative of the coat of many colors that Joseph’s father gave to him. In this story Joseph’s brothers did not get one and so were jealous of him. The importance here is that the father only recognized Joseph as most worthy of this gift because Joseph had obtained true self awareness. Of all his future suffering, Joseph would still go on to achieve and share much prosperity while maintaining his humility with God, his family and all those around him…An inspiration for all.

Who will give you your hero cloak and are you deserving of it? Is your character up to the challenge? Can you knit your own with the help of God’s presence in your life? The answer is a resounding YES! No matter who you are or where you’re from it is possible. Our western civilization truly depends on our Superheroes.

As with most anything, there is a balance to achieve when being self aware. The jealousy of others will be present and your perception to this will help to direct your path in life…Trust in divine providence.

Stop the Insanity

An addiction of hate has been allowed to permeate this country. I cannot believe the media attention of the past twenty years given to “unjust” causes. Are these causes really unmerited, undeserved, biased, prejudiced, unfair, inequitable or are they a symptom of something else?

I consider myself to be a very happy and positive person. Mine was a typical middle class (in the 60’s/70’s) home with parents who each struggled through the Depression Era yet were ultimately able to journey together through an improving economy ever mindful of their values. My generation benefited greatly from the experience of the previous generation. The ten year gap between me and my older siblings brought an even greater understanding to my cultural awareness…They were participants in Woodstock and Vietnam, me and my younger sister were participants in neighborhood “white flight” and school busing. I believe my happiness and positivity is grounded in both family and religious values for which I am eternally grateful.

Values are important for discerning the good and bad of this world. I have witnessed the substance abuse of a loved one come on slowly and seemingly innocently. A grueling schedule and hard work lead to a dependence on time off with copious amounts of alcohol. This behavior was the easy part of addiction for me to see and call out. However, it was the secrecy of drug use that mattered most. I could tell something just wasn’t right, but my ignorance around the issue of drug abuse limited my ability to confront it competently. Secrets allowed the substance abuser to control the values of the relationship. No matter how much I tried to talk with him about what didn’t seem right with our situation, it was plain to see that I was on my own. His secrets kept us in separate worlds. Our immediate family and close friends were only helpful once the secret was in the open.

This experience for me has revealed something very troubling about our society today. There is a definite manipulation by the media and government elites to create two different worlds in our country. Their secrets are abusive to our relationship with each other and our shared values of transparency, kindness and independent thought. Their addiction to power has allowed a division between them and us. Do we the people have the insight to recognize their abuse of our necessary relationship to them?

My experience with addiction taught me that anger was the root cause of his substance abuse. Anger? Yes. This emotion can be easily suppressed and then ultimately expressed through addictive behaviors. I am witnessing this now in the context of our politics.

Think about the cycle of anger enveloping some people. What are the political implications? Whether it is about race, gender, a woman’s right to choose, inflation or climate change, we the people are being pushed to the brink! But it’s worse than this because the media and political elites are fueling the anger with their secretive collusion of incomplete or false narratives along with leadership that doesn’t seem to create a real solution. Put simply, clueless angry people will become addicts in need of the next “fix”. It is plain to me that each “fix” is another government handout or a manic act of resistance. STOP THE INSANITY!! Well, this is exactly what the elites want in order to control our existence.

Do not give in to the anger. Let go and let God. Practice the mindfulness that will lead you back to what matters most: transparency, kindness and independent thought regarding yourself and your neighbor. You see the man made manipulation and you must not ignore it or enable it. Take a deep breath in and exhale the anger while saying, “I will follow the will of God and value His blessings above all else.” True moral behavior is grounded in acknowledgement of a Higher Power, not human power.

Transparency, kindness and independent thought are easiest to practice with a clear mind and open heart. May it be so.

A Teachable Moment

We must get back to basics. The Shrew understands that this country has lost its way as the bastion of liberty. Notice that I did not say bastion of democracy. There is a very important difference.

Justice is being manipulated to push the United States from a focus on individual liberty toward the mob rule of democracy. The efforts to control the actions and thoughts of all citizens need to be identified and revealed. This revelation is happening now!

Pure democracies are controlled by the majority. This is a very simple concept because “majorities” only reflect the loud and aggrieved elite in a country. However, to ensure maximum liberty a balance of actions and thoughts relative to each individual in a country is necessary. This is why our federal government and any organization in partnership with the government must obey the first amendment in our Constitution.

The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Notice the limits given to government. Can a government with such limits ever wind up controlling its citizens?

This government control is playing out now. For example, what happens when the government decides to underwrite the loans that students get for the tuition to attend a private university? Please understand how the politics work in this situation! University administrators can become beholden to government because the university is dependent on the cycle of loan to student then check to university. But then universities raise tuition annually which burdens the student and obviously not the banks. The university still gets their money and the bank gets the benefit of the interest payments from the graduate. But wait! Now the government can come along and pay off the student loan which in turn burdens the taxpayer because of the inflation caused by the government borrowing money to pay these loans. In this example the government has no limits, is influencing the policies of universities and banks, and effectively controls the resources of its citizens.

We see now that universities believe they are in a prime position to influence the government about social concerns. After all, the students who “pay tuition” are aggrieved and must “educate” the educators. Who can say NO to this oppressed generation? This is why the leadership at the universities and the federal government won’t take control of the student uprising…It’s all meant to dismantle the country and systems intended to secure liberty for all.

The moment has come. The universities who collude with the elite progressives have taught the anarchists well. And those of us who have ignored the warnings have been complicit in the plot. The politics are the same whether it involves the climate, health care, the justice system, etc. Progressive leaders use activist tactics to impose fascism so that the government can control everything.

The table has been set. We must not accept the invitation.

Godly Principle vs Humanism

WHY do humans exist? Humans exist precisely because they can ask THE WHY. The universe is vast and the questions in it are infinite. This realm of infinity is anxiety provoking to most humans which is WHY humans should desire a sincere connection to their Creator.

Jesus preached that we all have the ability to connect directly to God (our Creator). We simply need to practice consistent humility with our words and deeds before Him and to acknowledge that our fellow man should be treated with the same humility (do unto others as you would have them do unto you). Moses received the blueprint for living a humble life by conveying God’s Ten Commandments, and Jesus lived this honest relationship while further relaying the Word of God. Neither man had to fight a war to give the lessons, yet both men suffered greatly to pass the lessons forward. Honoring their suffering is WHY WE EXIST, because without their example our earthly mistakes would be even more tragic. These men used Godly principles to teach effective self governance.

Think about it…No kings of man would personally suffer to that extent. Instead the king would send enforcers to implement the king’s rules and dictates. In the United States this method of governing is no different from a bureaucratic system enforcing dictates that are not specifically voted on by Congress. Who or what gives these bureaucrats their authority? Probably a law set in place by Congress who represent us. However, Congress’s power of oversight has been diminished by an ever expanding bureaucracy. Representation and the unalienable right to the self governance of WE THE PEOPLE is therefore diluted. This diluted representation allows the ideology of humanism to take control.

From Merriam-Webster.com : humanism – a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values. especially : a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual’s dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason : secular humanism. humanist.

As you can see from the definition above, an individual’s ability to use reason to actualize self-realization (of one’s worth, dignity and character) is the preferred ideology for a humanist rather than using their inherent belief in God (supernaturalism) and His natural law. The rejection of His natural law, however, makes it difficult to comprehend any unanswerable WHY.

No one can know everything. No one can know themselves completely let alone another person. An understanding of God’s natural law along with God’s commandments and Jesus’ teachings help to provide an anchor for effective self governance and morality. A successful constitutional republic demands that we have this knowledge. Without it, the governed become susceptible to tyranny and oppression because humanists always attempt to impose their created versions of “moral” values.

Our standards for scientific research, education, governance and economic development are anchored in God’s natural law. To dismiss these standards as antiquated is absurd. We must resist the postmodern humanism that relies too heavily on social activism to force its unreliable and shifting standards.

God help us to see THE WHY and THE WAY.

Information Age Morality

We are about seventy-five years into the sociocultural evolution of the Information Age. So, how are we humans doing culturally and emotionally at this point in time? Pretty poor I would say…Poor in mind, body and spirit.

This standard of “poor” needs some serious discussion. Innovations of digital technology have progressed the most rapidly during this period. How unfortunate that illiteracy has also progressed. Whether due to laziness or miseducation, we must admit that our reliance on the information we receive or transmit through these technologies has diminished our capacity to understand each other with deep humility and honest compassion.

My engineering degree mostly strengthened my technical writing ability. I hated my reading and writing assignments in high school because the topics were not very interesting to me. Who needs Shakespeare and Tolstoy when regarding the bigger picture of life? Turns out that all of us need this rigorous education. I am so glad for the exposure to these pre Information Age literary guides.

Now that I am much older, I read and listen to the classics with enjoyment and appreciation. While reading and listening to newly produced information I tend to assess the content against the information standards of decades ago. I find that many of our modern cultural expressions in news, literature, motion pictures and lyrics are devoid of our natural human capacity toward Godly standards of metaphysical growth. Can this observation be applied to our current crisis in mental illness? Absolutely! Examples can be found in many current narratives.

For example; the next time you read or listen to a news story please look for the following criteria:

1) The headline matches the story’s content.

2) The content covers the who, what, when, where and why effectively.

3) The author addresses any missing information and commits to providing it in a future story.

4) The author uses caution to prevent misjudgment on behalf of the reader.

5) The author does not judge the people in or the content of the story unless they are editorializing.

6) The author points out that any anonymous source has actual first hand knowledge specific to this one event.

You can add a several more days to that headline lol

If what you read or hear does not follow the above noted norms, then the author is probably creating a biased narrative. There is nothing wrong with biased narratives, however the author must be up front about the content actually being an opinion piece rather than actual news.

It is immoral to present fantasy as fact. This narration of information has been happening far too often in our current culture…Media and literary pundits must pick a lane and confess their implicit bias practices before we all become ignorant slaves to the content that they generate. Otherwise we will quite literally lose our minds. Perhaps that is the goal?

I Dis Missing Information

It seems as though no one is willing to seek the truth anymore. Why is this so?

News headlines, especially on social media sites, intentionally lack specificity of facts in order to grab the reader’s attention. Missing facts IS “misinformation”…One needs to read the actual article to understand the context of the headline. Even then, one must scrutinize the language used in the article. The reader will scroll through multiple advertisements before they get to the main points of the article, and even then no relevant information will be revealed. It’s almost as though the journalists are complicit in a game of chess where cash is king. Well, many of them are complicit!!

But journalists who work within the corporate news media are only the “so called” messenger. Content comes from elsewhere. Let’s think about this because events are happening around us all the time. The events that are news “worthy” are typically what make the headlines. Journalists must track down the events, report relevant facts, and interview key sources without bias, conjecture and judgment. Words like “alleged”, “purported”, “claimed”, “unsubstantiated” are needed in a first report. If the reader/listener is not seeing/hearing these words in a first report then they are apt to misinterpret the story.

Hi standards can tumble and be easily washed away.

Likewise, an awful injustice can be done by simply reading or listening to hearsay that has no corroborating evidence. Oral history might be noteworthy, but should be taken lightly. Repeating something over and over does not make it truth. Repeatedly publishing someone else’s hearsay or leaks to the press does not make it truth.

I dislike any journalism based on the above stated flimsy methods. Let’s stop factualizing unsupported narratives and not reporting missing information. This is actual misinformation, and corporations who advertise within it are culpable of the worst kind of cronyism.

Fatalism or Free Will

These are some very dark days. How does your ideology help you to cope?

Sadly I see that many turn to activism. However, there are two types of activism we must be aware of.

The first type is personal … It’s plan of action is rooted in direct experience and uses principles that have been proven to work among close relationships with family, friends, and local community members. The system is designed for success to help the most people possible without disenfranchising others.

The second type of activism is what I call “tangential”… It’s plan of action is rooted in empathy and uses emotions as swords for justice. It’s appeal is not based in principle at all. The hook is projected outward from a guttural and primitive perspective. The system is designed for chaos and mass psychosis.

While personal activism is grounded in Truth, tangential activism has no grounding. If there is no grounding then the activism is nihilistic. Nihilism rejects all moral and religious principles in the belief that life is meaningless. Today’s group activism in the streets and meeting places is replete with catchphrases and chants yet has no solution. How is this activity useful for coping? Think about it.

To bring light into these dark times we must reject the fatalism of the tangential activism that we are witnessing around us. The goal of this activism is to eliminate the useful systems that have brought human prosperity. Yet, no matter how difficult the situation may become there are always people who work together willingly and freely to protect the lives of individuals. This light is the Creator’s promise of life everlasting in our world.

Reject fatalism and embrace your inherent free will to choose human prosperity. The evidence is clear: https://www.policyed.org/human-prosperity-project

The Shrew

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